Sky Bus project shelved due to lack of interest

Sky Bus, the pet project of former Managing Director of Konkan Railway B Rajaram, was shelved due to lack of interest. “Sky Bus Developmental Project has been shelved in view of insufficient response from the industry for investment in this project”, stated Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy, Minister of State for Railways while responding to a question in the Parliament recently.

Sky Bus was once considered to be the most economical mode of urban transportation. Its construction cost was estimated to be just 1/10th of that of Metro Railway. However, the proposal was opposed by a section of experts who were in favour of Metro Railway saying that that the latter system is more efficient than the Sky Bus.

Sky Bus development had cost Rs 52.3 crore which was spent by Konkan Railway out of its own kitty. In 2004 the Konkan Railway carried out a test run of Sky Bus in Margao, Goa with the help of Goa state government. However, the trial run was suspended when it met with an accident killing one employee and injuring three others. That incident literally sealed the fate of the project forever.